Born in China Page #5

By now, luckily, those baby legs...

are strong and fast,

just like their mothers'.

(ANTELOPE BLEATING)

The chiru are united.

The bonds between moms

and babies hold strong.

Each calf glued to its mother's scent.

(BLEATING)

The herd is many...

but the herd is one.

The sheer beauty of China...

manifests itself

in so many different ways...

in so many remote corners.

It sometimes feels like another world.

Under Dawa's nurturing...

her cubs are growing into

two impressive young cats.

And she's just had a successful hunt...

which comes none too soon.

Her cubs are now fully weaned

and hungry for some fresh meat.

They've been watching and learning

the ways of the great hunter...

their morn.

- (LEOPARD SNARLS IN DISTANCE)

- But suddenly...

across the valley,

the intruder has returned.

This time, with her three grown sons.

Scarcity of prey has brought them

into Dawa's territory...

and they are more than prepared

to take all that is hers.

Dawa's old rival is

much more emboldened...

now that she has reinforcements.

She and Dawa both know...

Dawa would never survive a fight

against all four leopards.

(GROWLING)

(SNARLING)

Dawa can't bring herself

to abandon this precious food, though.

Her cubs must eat,

and when it comes to their survival...

Dawa would fight almost any foe.

The trade-off between life and death...

is sometimes a very difficult calculation.

(SNARLING)

But then the sons move in.

Outnumbered and out-fanged...

Dawa must retreat to guard her cubs.

Not satisfied with merely

stealing Dawa's kill...

the interlopers

now pursue her to let her know...

they're here to stay.

To save her young...

Dawa must take them

and leave the area.

Expelled from their own home.

(WIND WHISTLING)

(BIRDS CHIRPING)

(WHIMPERING)

When your baby

is the cutest, fuzziest creature...

this side of the Yangtze River...

it's not easy to just leave it alone.

(SQUEALING)

At six months old, MeiMei is thinking...

she's ready to move about on her own.

Her mother is thinking...

"Yeah, not so much."

That's a tall tree.

And MeiMei is no expert climber.

Yet.

(MEIMEI SQUEALING)

(SQUEALING CONTINUES)

"Come on! Mom! I just wanna... Argh!"

(SQUEALS)

Being a helicopter mom

can suffocate a cub's curiosity, though.

For young pandas,

tree climbing is a rite of passage.

When a cub is able to

successfully climb a tree...

it means it can be safe from predators.

A cub that can climb a tree...

is a cub that no longer needs its mother.

"Mom, relax. I got this."

(SQUEALS)

(THUD)

(SQUEALS)

On the plains of Qinghai...

the male chiru stand guard

on the home front...

awaiting the return

of their far-roving females.

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